PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Police say a father and son drowned while swimming in a creek at Fairmount Park in Philadelphia.

Authorities believe that the father dove into the creek early Friday afternoon after his 13-year-old son was pulled under in Wissahickon Creek, near the Devil’s Pool area. Crews recovered the two bodies at about 4 p.m.

Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Joseph Sullivan says other children ran to seek help, and rescue crews went to the scene.

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The names of the father and son were not immediately released, pending notification of relatives.

Post office employees charged with ID theft

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Two Philadelphia area U.S. Post Office employees have been arrested for allegedly stealing customers’ credit card numbers and using them to purchase goods.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports Friday that 23-year-old Rashaad Schell and 24-year-old Daryl Matthews, both of Philadelphia, are charged with identity theft, forgery and related charges.

Police say the men allegedly used their cellphones to capture photos of the credit cards. At least 25 victims have been identified, and Abington Deputy Chief John A. Livingood says that number is going to rise.

All of the victims used their credit cards at the Abington Post Office shortly before the unauthorized charges.

Both men were arraigned Thursday on $75,000 bond. No attorneys were listed on court papers, and the men couldn’t be reached for comment.

Ex-official says turnpike should be under PennDOT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The recently retired inspector general at the Pennsylvania Turnpike says its problems remain and the agency should be put under the state Department of Transportation.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Friday that former inspector general Anthony Maniscola says political influence, patronage and pay-to-play contracting remain pervasive.

He’s retired after spending five years as the agency’s first inspector general.

Maniscola says there’s been progress in rooting out corruption but the four appointed members of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission have a lot of say in hiring and contracts. He accuses them of treating the agency like their own fiefdom.

A turnpike spokesman calls Maniscola disgruntled after being passed over for a job, and says his comments ignore the agency’s progress.

Hess, veteran lawmaker, dies after surgery

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The Pennsylvania House speaker’s office says longtime state Rep. Dick Hess is dead at age 74 from complications that arose after recent leg surgery.

House Speaker Sam Smith said Hess died Friday at UPMC Shadyside Hospital in Pittsburgh, surrounded by his family.

Hess was a 14-term veteran of the House, where he most recently chaired the Transportation Committee.

A Republican, his district ran through Bedford, Fulton and Huntingdon counties in western Pennsylvania.

Throat infection cited in gorilla’s death

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Officials say a throat infection led to the death of a male gorilla under anesthesia at the Philadelphia Zoo last month.

Twenty-eight-year-old Jabari stopped breathing while he was being examined in August following appetite loss and signs of mouth or throat discomfort.

The zoo said Friday that a necropsy concluded that a bacterial infection under the back of the tongue caused major swelling around the windpipe of the male western lowland gorilla.

Officials said although Jabari appeared to be breathing adequately before anesthesia, the swelling blocked his airway once the drugs took effect and also thwarted attempts to insert a breathing tube.

In June, the zoo said a female gorilla named Kira was being brought from Boston to pair with Chicago-born Jabari, who arrived in Philadelphia in 2004.

Coroner: Boy, 8, shot by boy, 6, brain dead

HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) — A coroner in south-central Pennsylvania says an 8-year-old boy has been declared brain-dead four days after a younger boy accidentally shot him in a Shippensburg-area home.

Cumberland County Coroner Charles Hall said Friday that the boy was being kept on life support at Hershey Medical Center, where his organs were to be harvested for transplantation.

Hall says the cause and manner of death won’t be released until after an autopsy planned for Monday. He’s not identifying the boy at this time.

Police have said the child was shot by a 6-year-old boy on Sunday while an adult slept. Police documents allege the home wasn’t fit for children because of trash and debris.

No charges have been filed in the case.

State seeks halt to negative health care ads

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Top state officials want the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and insurer Highmark, Inc. to stop a campaign of negative TV and media ads.

Insurance Commissioner Michael Consedine and Secretary of Health Michael Wolf wrote in a Thursday letter to both companies that the ads appear to be trying to get consumers to make health care choices based on fear.

The letter says the two companies are demonstrating a “lack of professionalism and judgment” in the media battle.

Contracts that provide Highmark members with in-network access to UPMC hospitals are set to expire at the end of 2014, and the companies don’t agree about a possible extension.

A state panel is trying to mediate and resolve the dispute between Pittsburgh’s largest insurer and its largest hospital network.

Ice cream truck driver arrested on sex charges

UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A western Pennsylvania ice cream truck driver is facing sexual assault charges over an incident with a 12-year-old girl.

Authorities say 27-year-old Ronald Burwell III of Smithfield was taken into custody Thursday evening. That’s about 60 miles south of Pittsburgh.

The girl told police that she got to know Burwell through his job delivering ice cream, and that he allegedly talked to her about having sex. Police say Burwell then allegedly assaulted the girl on Aug. 22 after work.

Burwell is facing sexual assault, corruption of minors, and other charges. He’s being held in Fayette County Jail, unable to post $100,000 bond. No attorney was listed on court papers.